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Schools of social work are community projects. Many of our students come from communities in and around Ottawa. Many more students practice in those communities after graduating. Our faculty live, teach and research in partnership with a wide range of communities across the capital region and beyond. Our community partners ensure our curriculum is informed by the needs, strengths and wisdom of our communities. Community partners are key teachers in practicums, as contract instructors, guest lecturers and honoured visitors.

To recognize the many communities that support the School of Social Work and who give the Social Work profession its meaning, we began a mural project in 2019. Our hope was to transform the walls of the School and our website to reflect and celebrate the communities to whom we are accountable and with whom we work, live and play. They represent the people and places from which the School of Social Work takes its inspiration.

The following are the artists who brought this vision to life and whose work now fills the hallways of our School and the pages of our website. They join communities of service recipients, activists, practitioners, field supervisors, volunteers, co-researchers, students and teachers who make the School of Social work what it is and with whom we continue to grow.

Thank you for all the life you breathe into our programs. This School exists because of the hopes and dreams of communities past, present and future.

Introducing the artists

Claudia Salguero

Claudia Salguero is a multidisciplinary artist working with multicultural groups and social institutions in at-risk communities in the Ottawa area. Since 2014, she has created close to 30 big projects, community murals in and around the City – Witness the power of community art.

In 2017, as part of Canada’s 150th Anniversary official celebrations. Claudia received the 150Neigbourhood Arts Grant for her mural “Canadian Pride, Harmony in Cultures.”

In 2018, she created the official image for the Welcoming Ottawa Week, WOW week, entitled the “Transformation, the WOW Mural,” – the tallest mural in town. Both of her murals were created with the help of close to 100 people from all backgrounds and corners within the City of Ottawa.

Do you love music? Claudia is also known for her Latin Folk and Jazz singing. Since 2011, she has raised funds for kids’ foundations in her home country of Colombia through her annual sold-out concerts at the National Arts Centre.

She is a member of the ’s Board of Directors.

To learn more about Claudia Salguero, visit her or read the latest article from the .

Allan André

Allan André is a Canadian multi-disciplinary artist of West Indian descent based in Ottawa, Canada. André’s work has been featured in exhibits internationally in New York, Orlando, Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal.

In 2014, 2016 and 2019, André won the Ottawa regional championship for the Art Battle Canada’s nationwide speed painting competition. In July 2016 and 2019, André won the Art Battle National championship earning him the title of Canada’s best speed painter.

Allan’s installation work has also been featured twice at Ottawa’s “Nuit Blanche,” city-wide dusk till dawn exhibition. In 2015 days after a “Black Lives Matter” message was defaced on Ottawa’s legal graffiti Tech Wall and artist Kalkidan Assefa he created a tribute to Sandra Bland. He’s also competed and won on CBC’s art competition show Crash Gallery.

Allan hosted a series of local art socials featuring live art and music with Dj Unique 1 at Grounded Kitchen Coffee and Bar every Thursday during the summer, fall and winter of 2017. Allan is currently mentoring youth for Youth Ottawa’s Artistic Mentorship Program (AMP).

André’s philosophy is that life is art. He states:

“We live in a collective masterpiece” and that “We all are artists who leave our signature on the canvas we call the human experience by challenging our own spheres of influence in a way that will ripple through future generations.”

Mique Michelle

Mique Michelle is a Franco-Ontarienne, originally from West Nipissing this woman’s graffiti can be found all around the world. She uses graffiti as a way to create awareness about the oppression that visible and invisible minorities face. She is convinced that murals, as just like all elements of hip hop can offer solutions to stop the discrimination.

David D. Pistol

David D. Pistol aka The Soulful Architect is an activist, a writer, a photographer and a multi-media aficionado.